Martina Is Surprised by Zvereva

Fourth-seeded Natalia Zvereva of the Soviet Union upset defending champion and second-seeded Martina Navratilova, 6-2, 3-6, 6-1, Saturday in the semifinals of the $300,000 Family Circle Magazine Cup tournament.

In today’s final, Zvereva will play top-seeded Steffi Graf of West Germany, who overpowered 17-year-old Arantxa Sanchez of Spain, 6-2, 6-4.

In the final set, Navratilova had trouble with her serve, double-faulting twice in the first game and again on match point, and Zvereva, ranked No. 9 in the world, seemed to be able to move the three-time Family Circle champion around the court at will.

Zvereva, who turns 18 next Sunday, said her age may have affected Navratilova’s performance. “She seems very nervous, especially when she’s played against youngsters.”

Navratilova said age had nothing to do with it. “I wasn’t nervous, I just haven’t played enough on clay to be steady,” she said. “I’m 32 years old. I play younger players all the time.”

Graf, the world’s top-ranked player, dominated the first set. But Sanchez, ranked 17th, pressed her in the second set, mixing lobs and drop shots.

Trailing, 5-1, Sanchez twice broke Graf’s serve to make it 5-4. However, Graf, who has not lost since Pam Shriver upset her at the Virginia Slims Championships in New York last November, broke Sanchez to close out the match.

Sanchez said her ability to retrieve Graf’s shots helped her stay in the match.

“She plays the great forehand that she has so I know I have to run,” Sanchez said.

Graf, 19, said she was surprised not to be facing Navratilova in the final.

“Martina was a little bit off,” Graf said. “I saw some good points from Zvereva and she had really some kind of game that Martina doesn’t really like.”